The Style of Hollow Mountain cracks me up. The Bots and Jonah as models in a fashion line and Tom as the announncer? Hone run.
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First time I saw this one, I started to get really caught-up in the story, then suddenly that claymation dinosaur showed-up and I could not stop laughing! 
Now that seen it many times and know what’s coming, I can really enjoy this riff! It’s very good.
And I’ll put in another vote for the Celebration Dance host segment. One of my favorites in this era!
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Something I’ve been wondering about the fashion show host segment. Is Tom doing an impression of a specific personality, or is it just meant to be a generic snooty fashion show MC?
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I’m trying to think of another one other than The Valley Of Gwangi.
I really loved this one as the movie (along with Gwangi) popped up regularly on late-night TV when I was a tyke. I preferred Gwangi as a kid as it got to the dinosaurs more quickly, but The Beast Of Hollow Mountain makes for an enjoyable watch and a favorite experiment since the return.
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Spot on for me as well. I was enjoying the riff but was wondering when we would get to this “so-called” Beast. But then a great blooming DINOSAUR shows up and waggles its tongue at me.!
I had nothin’.
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One of my favorites.
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“When in Mexico see the invisible birds!”
I have no idea why this is so funny to me, but it cracks me up every time.
Unfortunately my sister, who is my usual watch partner, doesn’t like this episode much. It’s one of my favs from season 11.
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Is she into westerns? Not everyone is. That may be it.
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Maybe. I’ll have to have her rewatch it and see if she can pinpoint what it is that she doesn’t like. She doesn’t like Horror of Party Beach either and I love that one.
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Westerns are slow. Consequently the riffs, references, and humor is slower to match the pace of the film. I’ll bet you the speed of the joking due to the movie is why. People can’t always explain it but what you’re used to is a big part.
Is Poncho really worth four wet socks?
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For a earlier Weird Western on the silver screen, there’s The Phantom Empire. It’s a twelve part serial that was Gene Autrey’s first starring role. It’s got radium claim jumpers, robots, ray guns, and the Lost Civilization of Mu residing in a cave system under Gene Autrey’s ranch. Also, remember that episode of Futurama where they’re on the planet of human hating robots, so Fry and Leela disguise themselves? Done in The Phantom Empire over sixty years earlier. Should you not feel up to handling a serial, it was edited down to feature length in the 1960s and retitled Radio Ranch.
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Both Panchito and Pancho we’re in another MsT3k Classic episode S1E13 The Black Scorpion. Strangely this movie came out in 1957 after The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956) yet it wasn’t in colour.
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At that time color was still just an option for more expensive movies. 1961 was the first year when there was more color than black and white movies made.
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I’ve said it before here. I love the Mexican movies! Robot vs. Aztec Mummy is my favorite from season one, Santa Claus is pure Christmas fun, and Samson vs. the Vampire Women is a classic. Frank’s last episode. And now this addition. It’s watchable and loads of fun!
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Stop motion wizard Willis O’Brien always wanted to do a western with dinosaurs. This would eventually be realized in 1969 with The Valley of Gwangi. But thirteen years before that, this movie ran with the same idea. Well not so much run as go at a brisk walk. The big flaw is how late the dinosaur is introduced. Its first on-screen killing (something that in any other movie would occur at the end of the prologue) doesn’t happen until well into the second act.
What this means is that we get a bland horse opera with the dinosaur being tacked on almost as an afterthought. It’s quite possible that this was a regular western that had been greenlit when it was decided to include the dinosaur idea. One thing about it that sticks out is the stampede scene. This was accomplished by shooting footage of the beeves going at a trot and then speeding up the film. This has the unfortunate effect of making it look like they’re speed walking. Compared to The Valley of Gwangi, it’s a massive disappointment.
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It may not have been dinosaurs, but a bunch of cowboys (including a young Ben Johnson!) chased a stop motion giant ape in 1949’s Mighty Joe Young. (It was for that film Willis O’Brien won his Oscar!)
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Carlos Rivas was also in both movies! In Black Scorpion he played Dr. Arturo Ramos (Clap clap clap clap) and here he plays Felipe Sanchez. He even walks off with Panchito at the end of the movie. It’s too bad no one caught it; it would’ve been a perfect place for a joke à la “Come with me, Panchito, and together we will hunt for giant scorpions.” Oh well…
(Seriously, though, Black Scorpion is my episode from Season 1. I think it has the best visual effects of any experiment on MST3K! And incidentally, my Arizona Cardinals are currently doing battle against the 49ers in that SAME stadium!)
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